Fans of The WB's 1999-2001 high-school comedy-drama "Popular" might look at one of its former stars, Christopher Gorham, now star of his own UPN series "Jake 2.0," and say, "Aw, he's all grown up now."

But, says "Popular" co-star Carly Pope, "He was all grown up then."

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 9 p.m. ET, Pope guest-stars on "Jake 2.0," in which Gorham plays a former computer tech who becomes a super-spy after being accidentally infected with "nanites" -- molecule-sized robots -- that give him superhuman powers and the ability to interface with technology.

In "The Good, the Bad and the Geeky," written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Pope plays computer hacker Yori, who is trying to consummate an online affair with a guy she thinks is computer terrorist DuMont. What she doesn't know is that Jake is impersonating DuMont in the hopes of infiltrating his international gang.

"The difference is," Pope says, "on 'Popular,' we were working with adolescent material, and now it's moved on to adult material. It's cool to see Chris leading his space, because he definitely has the talent, the intelligence and the gumption to do it.

"He's great. He's wonderful. He's very thoughtful, very smart and unique. He's not afraid to bring in awkwardness and humor into a scene, which is rare for a lot of leading men. And he's got some brown eyes to look into, that's for sure."

As a bonus, Pope also knew the actors playing the other hackers -- Brendan Fletcher, Paul Anthony and Kristian Ayre -- and executive producer Gina Matthews, who co-created "Popular" with Ryan Murphy ("Nip/Tuck"). "Jake 2.0" also shoots in Pope's home city of Vancouver, Canada.

"It was quite a little family that we got to play with," Pope says.

All the familiar faces made it easier for Pope to venture into the very unfamiliar territory of computers.

"It's my first time as a computer hacker," she says. "It felt a little technical. It felt a little stiff, but everybody seemed to find the human interaction to burst through all the technical stuff."

As to whether Yori might return, Pope says, "I'm not sure. It depends on what else Yori has going on in her life that might prevent her from doing that. The character exit is open-ended, that's for sure. If they write another story for a lone hacker, it's definitely very appreciated on my end."

Pope is currently at work on a Canadian series called "The Collector," about a former monk who collects souls for the Devil.

"It's got a bit of a devilish undertone," Pope says. "People are starting to face mortality a bit. It's interesting."

Pope is back in Vancouver after a stint in Los Angeles to do "Popular." Asked if she considered making the move to L.A. permanent after "Popular," Pope emphatically says, "Oh, no, I made the permanent move out after 'Popular.'

"It was a very easy decision. It wasn't for me. I definitely wasn't feeling very settled, so I'm glad to have found a bit more serenity."